The Athlone-based Hodson Bay Group has formally submitted planning application for a €40 million 263-bed hotel in Dublin city centre.

The four-star hotel is to be located in the Coombe area of the city, close to St Patrick’s Cathedral.

The family-run group , which employs more than 550 people, owns and operates three properties: the Hodson Bay hotel, the Galway Bay hotel and Sheraton Athlone hotel.

“The new hotel will create employment and offer a significant addition to the tourism offering in the area,” said group chairman John O’Sullivan.

“The hotel will complement existing tourist attractions in the immediate vicinity and will continue the group’s ethos as a family run operation which is founded on serving domestically sourced produce and, in this particular area, locally produced craft beers and boutique whiskeys,” he added.